Land managers begin work on Silver Springs' basin plan

Published: Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.

The arduous, lengthy and likely expensive task of cutting down the pollution level in Silver Springs has taken a step forward.

At a meeting Thursday, environmental regulators and land managers from multiple agencies began to lay the foundation for a management plan for the renowned waterway.

The group will spend the next few months crafting what's known as the Basin Management Action Plan, or BMAP.

The BMAP will be the vehicle through which Marion County, joined by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will try to curtail the flushing of nitrates into the springs.

The DEP has designated Silver Springs as impaired, with a nitrate level that is triple the maximum pollution threshold set by the agency.

While eventually the plan will seek to identify and neutralize the pollutants at their source, Thursday's session focused primarily on a critical first step: defining the boundary of the springshed that feeds Silver Springs.

Doing so will concentrate the anti-pollution efforts to come, said Mary Paulic, a DEP environmental consultant.

Among those present at the meeting at the Marion County Public Library headquarters were representatives of a handful of state public land managers, state water managers, environmental regulators from Marion and Alachua counties, wastewater control officials from the county and city of Ocala as well as members of the public.

The discussions covered technical aspects of trying to determine how water flows through the aquifer before bubbling up at Silver Springs and an overview of how the land above the springs makes it vulnerable to pollution.

Hydrologists from the St. Johns River Water Management District compared Silver Springs to the middle of a “saddle,” flanked by higher spots miles away to the north and south that feed water to the famous tourist attraction.

The springs' basin, defined that way, covers almost 900 square miles, they said.

It covers the part of Marion eastward from Interstate 75 into the Ocala National Forest and spans north and south from the Hawthorne area in Alachua to northern Lake County.

Their description was met with a request to expand the zone.

Some in the audience said their designated area conflicted with earlier efforts to draw a much bigger recharge zone around the springs.

One audience member read from a letter written by Bob Knight, director of the University of Florida's Florida Springs Institute, who recommended setting the basin as large as 1,300 square miles. Knight maintained that was considered the historic size of the springshed.

Ultimately, the group tentatively opted for what was known as the potentiometric springshed, which is based on the level of the aquifer as recorded in well measurements.

In essence, that puts Silver Springs at the bottom of a geographical bowl.

Shane Williams, a stormwater engineer with Marion County, explained that the well data will allow scientists to delineate the boundaries of aquifer-based outposts of higher elevations where groundwater on one side flows to Silver Springs and on the other side travels to a different spring system.

The boundary is expected to be formally ratified by the group at the next meeting on April 11.

The partnership between Marion County and DEP is unique, county officials say, in that it is the first in which the state has united with a local government to set policy regarding pollution levels at a spring.

Last month, the County Commission approved a second agreement with DEP to draft a similar BMAP for Rainbow Springs.

<p>The arduous, lengthy and likely expensive task of cutting down the pollution level in Silver Springs has taken a step forward.</p><p>At a meeting Thursday, environmental regulators and land managers from multiple agencies began to lay the foundation for a management plan for the renowned waterway.</p><p>The group will spend the next few months crafting what's known as the Basin Management Action Plan, or BMAP.</p><p>The BMAP will be the vehicle through which Marion County, joined by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will try to curtail the flushing of nitrates into the springs.</p><p>The DEP has designated Silver Springs as impaired, with a nitrate level that is triple the maximum pollution threshold set by the agency.</p><p>While eventually the plan will seek to identify and neutralize the pollutants at their source, Thursday's session focused primarily on a critical first step: defining the boundary of the springshed that feeds Silver Springs.</p><p>Doing so will concentrate the anti-pollution efforts to come, said Mary Paulic, a DEP environmental consultant.</p><p>Among those present at the meeting at the Marion County Public Library headquarters were representatives of a handful of state public land managers, state water managers, environmental regulators from Marion and Alachua counties, wastewater control officials from the county and city of Ocala as well as members of the public.</p><p>The discussions covered technical aspects of trying to determine how water flows through the aquifer before bubbling up at Silver Springs and an overview of how the land above the springs makes it vulnerable to pollution.</p><p>Hydrologists from the St. Johns River Water Management District compared Silver Springs to the middle of a “saddle,” flanked by higher spots miles away to the north and south that feed water to the famous tourist attraction.</p><p>The springs' basin, defined that way, covers almost 900 square miles, they said.</p><p>It covers the part of Marion eastward from Interstate 75 into the Ocala National Forest and spans north and south from the Hawthorne area in Alachua to northern Lake County.</p><p>Their description was met with a request to expand the zone.</p><p>Some in the audience said their designated area conflicted with earlier efforts to draw a much bigger recharge zone around the springs.</p><p>One audience member read from a letter written by Bob Knight, director of the University of Florida's Florida Springs Institute, who recommended setting the basin as large as 1,300 square miles. Knight maintained that was considered the historic size of the springshed.</p><p>Ultimately, the group tentatively opted for what was known as the potentiometric springshed, which is based on the level of the aquifer as recorded in well measurements.</p><p>In essence, that puts Silver Springs at the bottom of a geographical bowl.</p><p>Shane Williams, a stormwater engineer with Marion County, explained that the well data will allow scientists to delineate the boundaries of aquifer-based outposts of higher elevations where groundwater on one side flows to Silver Springs and on the other side travels to a different spring system.</p><p>The boundary is expected to be formally ratified by the group at the next meeting on April 11.</p><p>The partnership between Marion County and DEP is unique, county officials say, in that it is the first in which the state has united with a local government to set policy regarding pollution levels at a spring.</p><p>Last month, the County Commission approved a second agreement with DEP to draft a similar BMAP for Rainbow Springs.</p><p>That, however, will not be tied to the Silver Springs plan.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>